Three-dimensional objects generated by an additive manufacturing process may be formed in a layer-by-layer manner. In one example of additive manufacturing, an object is generated by solidifying portions of layers of build material. In examples, the build material may be in the form of a powder, fluid or sheet material. The intended solidification and/or physical properties may be achieved by printing an agent onto a layer of the build material. Energy may be applied to the layer and the build material on which an agent has been applied may coalesce and solidify upon cooling. In other examples, chemical binding agents may be used to solidify a build material. In other examples, three-dimensional objects may be generated by using extruded plastics or sprayed materials as build materials, which solidify to form an object.
Some printing processes that generate three-dimensional objects use control data generated from a model of a three-dimensional object. This control data may, for example, specify the locations at which to apply an agent to the build material, or where a build material itself may be placed, and the amounts to be placed. The control data may be generated from a three-dimensional representation of an object to be printed. Some examples allow arbitrary three-dimensional content with a variety of specified object properties to be processed and used to generate a three-dimensional object. These object properties may comprise appearance properties (color, translucency, gloss, etc.), conductivity, density, porosity and/or mechanical properties such as strength.